CLAT Syllabus 2021

CLAT Syllabus 2021 - The Consortium of National Law Universities has released CLAT 2021 syllabus on its official website - consortiumofnlus.ac.in. The syllabus of CLAT 2021 contains all the topics from which questions will be framed in the examination. CLAT 2021 aspirants must be familiar with the syllabus to prepare for the exam in an orderly manner. The CLAT syllabus 2021 for UG includes subjects such as general knowledge, current affairs, legal and logical aptitude, English language and Math. The CLAT PG syllabus is based on the common subjects of 3-year LLB and 5-year LLB courses. It may also be noted here that CLAT is a comprehension based test and MCQ type questions will be asked from the passages. The CLAT LLM will also have essay type questions. Read the complete article to learn the full details on CLAT syllabus 2021, question type, marking scheme and more.

CLAT 2021 syllabus

Last year, the Consortium made certain changes in the syllabus of CLAT UG and PG. Among the most significant changes was the introduction of comprehension based questions in the exam to test the reading, critical thinking and analytical skills of the students. Less emphasis was given on rote learning. The CLAT 2021 syllabus for both UG and LLM are explained below.

CLAT syllabus 2021 - Undergraduate level

The Consortium has designed the CLAT UG syllabus to test candidates on the basis of their aptitude and skills which are considered crucial for legal education. CLAT UG syllabus is divided into the following subjects.

• English language

• Current affairs, including general knowledge

• Legal reasoning

• Logical reasoning

• Quantitative techniques

1. CLAT 2021 syllabus - English language

This section is designed to test the reading ability of students. There will be around four to five comprehension passages of about 450 words each. The content of the passages will be derived from the contemporary or historically significant fiction and non-fiction writing. Each passage will be followed by four to five objective type questions that require the candidates to demonstrate the following skills.

• Read and comprehend the main point discussed in the passage, as well as any arguments and viewpoints discussed or set out in the passage

• Drawing inferences and conclusions from the passage.

• Summarising the passage

• Compare and contrast the different arguments or viewpoints given in the passage.

• Understand the meaning of various words and phrases used in the passage.

2. CLAT syllabus for current affairs, including general knowledge

The general knowledge and current affairs section will also have comprehension passages of up to 450 words each. Each passage will be followed by a series of objective types of questions. Overall, there will be around 35-39 questions, making around 25% of the test paper. The content of comprehension passages will be drawn from the following topics.

• News

• Legal editorials and opinions

• Journalistic sources

• Other non-fiction writing

• Contemporary events of significance from India and the world;

• Arts and culture;

• International affairs; and

• Historical events of continuing significance.

The questions from CLAT current affairs and general knowledge may include an examination of legal information or knowledge.

3. CLAT syllabus for logical reasoning

The CLAT reasoning will be designed to test the critical thinking and analytical skills of the candidates. There will be around 28-32 objective type questions requiring the candidates to demonstrate the following skills.

• Recognizing the arguments, their premises and drawing conclusions

• Reading and identifying the arguments set out in the passage

• Critical examination of the patterns of reasoning, and assessing evidence and premises on which a particular conclusion can be based.

• Infer what follows from the passage and apply these inferences to new situations

• Drawing relationships and analogies, identify contradictions and equivalence and assess the effectiveness of arguments.

4. CLAT 2021 syllabus for legal aptitude

This section will have 25% weightage in the paper. There will be around four to five comprehension passages of around 450 words each. The passages may be drawn from various fact situations or scenarios that involve legal matters, questions, public policy questions or moral philosophical enquiries. Candidates are expected to have prior knowledge of law. However, some basic understanding and awareness of contemporary legal and moral issues will be helpful in answering the questions.

Types of questions asked in CLAT legal aptitude

The CLAT legal aptitude may have questions revolving around the following theme;

• Identify and infer the rules and principles set out in the passage;

• Apply such rules and principles to various fact situations; and

• Understand how changes to the rules or principles may alter their application to various fact situations.

5. CLAT syllabus for quantitative aptitude

The maths section will be of Class 10th level. There will be questions from short sets of facts or propositions, graphs, or other textual, pictorial or diagrammatic representations of numerical information. Candidates will be required to derive information from such facts, diagrams, passages, graphs or other representations and apply the mathematical formulas and operations to answer the questions.

Overall, there will be around 13-17 questions.

Topics to be studied: Ratios and proportions, basic algebra, mensuration and statistical estimation, percentage, loss and profit etc.

CLAT syllabus 2021 (UG) - Subject wise marks distribution

Each section of CLAT 2021 syllabus will carry some fixed weightage. The consortium has prescribed the following distribution of questions and marks CLAT UG paper.

CLAT UG syllabus - Subject wise marks distribution

CLAT 2021 syllabus - LLM

For CLAT PG, the test paper will be divided into two sections; objective section and descriptive section. It may be noted that the descriptive section has been restored again. The descriptive section which requires the candidates to write two essays was last year removed from the syllabus to make the paper suitable for online mode. The present syllabus of CLAT LLM is as follows.

1. Objective section

The PG-CLAT 2021 objective section will be a comprehension based test in which the extracts from primary legal materials such as important court decisions in various fields of law, statutes or regulations will be provided. Each comprehension passage will be followed by a series of multiple choice questions that will test the following skills of the candidates.

• Ability to read and understand the legal issues given passage, identifying the arguments and viewpoints in the passage.

• Awareness of the issues discussed in the passage. Legal aspects, facts and knowledge related to the topic discussed in the passage.

• Awareness of the judgment or statute on which the passage is based on.

• Summarising the passage and ability to apply the knowledge of law discussed in the passage.

2. Descriptive section

The essay or descriptive section has been restored this year. In this section, candidates will be asked to write essays answering any 2 questions from the list of questions given in the paper. The word count of essays should not be more than 800 words each. In the section, candidates will be required to demonstrate the following aspects.

• Awareness of the legal, factual, and philosophical issues arising out of the questions you choose to answer.

• Ability to structure your answer, and clearly set out various arguments and perspectives related to the topic set out in the questions and to draw a conclusion based on the above.

CLAT LLM syllabus 2021

The content of the passages and the questions may be drawn from various legal reports, judgments, status etc. However, the candidates will be required to have conceptual understanding of the basic legal subjects as mentioned below.

CLAT syllabus 2021 for LLM

CLAT 2020 syllabus - Section wise marks distribution

The syllabus of CLAT LLM can be divided into two sections. Each section will have 60 questions. The details of subject-wise marks distribution is given below.

CLAT PG subject wise marks distribution

CLAT exam pattern 2021

The consortium has also revised its exam pattern which tells about the test structure and other related rules. As per the CLAT test pattern, the exam will be held in offline mode and two hours will be given to the candidates to answer all the questions. OMR sheets will be used to record the responses of the candidates. The details of the exam pattern are mentioned below.

CLAT 2021 test pattern - Updated